Figure 1.--This tin tyoe shows a brother and sister. It is undated, but was probably taken in the 1870s. Note the boy's striped long stockings. I'm not sure what the colors may have been, perhaps red and white.

Patterned long stockings were quite common in the mid-19th century. We see many children wearing long stockings done in colored bands. We are not sure about the colors. Our information is limited, primarily because we have relatively little 19th century catalog information. As far as we can tell, the long stockings worn by American boys and girls in the 20th century were primarily solid colors. Some stockings had destinctive ribbing, suggesting a pattern, but in fact were solid colors. Patterned stockings were not unknown, but we have rarely seen children wearing them in the photographic record. One of the rare catalog offerings for patterned long stockings that we have noted was in the Sears 1928 catalog. But the patterned long stockings don't seem to have had much commercial staying power. They were sporty looking of course (like the golf style knicker socks), but one of the main reason for dressing boys in short pants with long stockings was for a look of greater formality and conservatism. This is one of the reasons, I think, that they didn't seem to catch on. Conservative mothers might have thought they looked a little too flash-in-the-pan and a bit undignified. Commercially, they seem to have been a bit like the button-on stockings or the combination stockings (long stockings made to look as though they were knee socks). These styles had a brief life, but didn't turn out to sell well enough to remain in the catalogs more than a year or two.

Popularity

Patterned long stockings, mostly stripe, were quite common in the mid-19th century. We see many children wearing long stockings done in colored bands. These stockings were very widely worn by both boys and girls. They were primarily a choldren's styles as youth and adukts did not normally show their hosiery. The photographic record shows they were extremely popular, although this varied chrnologically. It is a little difficult to estimate how commonly they were worn. The relative appearance in thephotohraphic record is probably a good indicator. They seem most popular in the 1870s and 80s, but in both decades were worn by a minority of children. It was not, however a small minority.

Patterns

Striped stockings were done with many different types of stripes. The variety involved is very substantial. Some were done with wide stripes, often of equal widths in two alternating colors. At this time we are unsure as to what colors were used. There were also stripe patterns which mixed narrow and wide stripes. Most of the stripped pattern are basically repeatedly replicating a basic pattern. Others are more varied and complicated. Here the number of possible patterns are virtually numberless. Illustrations often show the two alternating patterns of equal widths. I think because this was the easiest to draw. The photographic record shows that the stripe patterns actually worn were more varied.

Colors

We are not sure about the colors. Some stockings mixed only two different colors. Others had three or more colors. Some of the stockings seem to use bright colors. Others have more muted colors. Our color information is limited, primarily because of the black-and-white photography of the day. Some color information can be found in catalogs, but we have relatively little 19th century catalog information. Period illustrations provide some color information, but we are not positive about the accuracy. We have not found many painted portraits with the children wearing striped stockings. There are many more colorized portraits. The colors here are probanly more reliable than illustrations, but accuracy is still a question to be considerd. A good example is an unidentified American boy, perhaps in the 1860s. He wears long stockings with thin red stripes.

Chronology

We are not entirely sure when striped long stockings first appeared. The lack of dates on many available images make it difficult go develop a precise chronology. We notice quite a few boys earing them in the 1860s, but they may have appeared earlier. Images are, however, not as common for earlier periods. This is something we need to look at in greater detail. We have note drawings of boys wearing striped stockings un the 1850s, but we do not yet have photohraphs. We note them in the 1880s, but not the 1890s, at least they were not very common. We mostly see black stockings in the 1890s. As far as we can tell, the long stockings worn by American boys and girls in the 20th century were primarily solid colors.

Accompanying Clothing

We see boys wearing striped long stockings with a variety of the various garments popular with younger children. All of the garments worn by younger children were worn with striped stockings. Not all children wore these striped stockings, but they were a very popular style of hosiery. The grments included both skirted garments and pants. The skirted garments included dresses, skirts, tunics, and kilt suits. The suits included a variety of juvenile suits with both knee pants and bloomer knickers. We do not think they were worn mych with ling trousers, but cannot yet confirm this. The suits included both jackets and blouse suits. This included a wide range of styles during the approximately four decades that these striped stockings were popular. We are not yet sure about the relative popularity of these garments with these striped stockings.

Conventions

These striped stockings have a rather sporty look to us today. Perhaps because they have been used in rugby football uniforms. As far as we can tell, this was not the image they had when wirn by children. We see children wearing them with suits and fancy drsses that would have been considered formal attire at the time.

Ribbing

Some stockings had destinctive ribbing, suggesting a pattern, but in fact were solid colors.

Gender

We note both boys and girls wearing striped stockings in the 19th century. As far as we can tell, there were no gender connotations associated with striped stockings. At least we havevnot yet detected any gender differences in the photographic record. There may hve been some gender connotations associated wih color choice, but we are not sure about this. And of course the black-and-white photograohy of the day provide few clues. There may have been age differences because boys began wearing long pants and afairly young age and thus no longer wore long stockings. Girls may have continued wearing long stockings for a few more years, but this needs to be confirmed.

Age

We notice boys of all ages wearing long stockings. This was not the case for striped long stockings. Here the age rabge was much more narrow, We see only younger boys wearing striped long stockings. This does not appear to have been an actual attribute of the striped pattern. We have not yet found any discussion of this in fashion magazines. At this time all we have to go on is the photographic record. Rather the key factor seems to have been that when striped stockings were popular, long stockings were mostly worn by younger boys. This includes both before and after breeching. We see a lot of pre-scgool boys wearing striped long stockings with kilt suits. And we see both pre-school and younger scgool children wearing striped long stockings with knee pants. Most of the available images show that the boys wearing sttiped long stickings were about 2-8 year old. We see some boys perhaps 9-10 years old wearing striped long stockings, but rarely boys over 10 years. We are not yer sure about the age range for girls.

Other Patterns

Patterned oher than strips stockings were not unknown, but we have rarely seen children wearing them in the photographic record. One of the rare catalog offerings for patterned long stockings that we have noted was in the Sears 1928 catalog. But the patterned long stockings don't seem to have had much commercial staying power. They were sporty looking of course (like the golf style knicker socks), but one of the main reason for dressing boys in short pants with long stockings was for a look of greater formality and conservatism. This is one of the reasons, I think, that they didn't seem to catch on. Conservative mothers might have thought they looked a little too flash-in-the-pan and a bit undignified. Commercially, they seem to have been a bit like the button-on stockings or the combination stockings (long stockings made to look as though they were knee socks). These styles had a brief life, but didn't turn out to sell well enough to remain in the catalogs more than a year or two.

Modesty

Long stockings today or often viewed as a cold-weather garment. Warmth of course is a major reason why long stockings were worn. Warmth was, however, not the only reason. Another importasnt reason was modesty. Victorians wanted to make sure that the legs were covered up, even children's legs. This was also the case in Europe, although yonger children were allowed to wear socks to a greater degree than more prudish America. One interesting thing about striped stockings is that while they did cover up the child's legs, they also drew attention to the legs in a way mote muted, solid colored stockings did not. This may part of the reason that they were mostly won by younger children.

Created: 3:48 PM 8/24/2007
Last updated: 1:35 PM 11/3/2010